Union vote at Bay Gas cancelled

Workers at Bay Gas Storage who said they wanted to join the United Steelworkers union have withdrawn their request, meaning Thursday's vote on union representation at the McIntosh facility has been canceled.

Wes Phillips, a spokesman for parent company Sempra Energy, and union spokesman Michael Yoffee both confirmed the cancellation.

"We're glad to put it behind us and we're looking to move forward with fostering a positive work environment and developing the Bay Gas facility," Phillips said.

Many petitions don't come to a vote, sometimes because a union doesn't think it will win.

"Apparently management asked the workers to give them 'another chance,'" Yoffee wrote in an email. "This is very common. The workers apparently decided to give them six months, which is the next time the union can file another petition. I would say 80 percent of the time, management doesn't keep their promises and the workers come back to us for help."

The McIntosh firm stores natural gas in underground domes. Of its 16 workers, 14 were eligible to vote on union representation. The National Labor Relations Board, which governs union-employer affairs, holds such an election when 30 percent or more of workers submit a petition.

San Diego-based Sempra also owns Mobile Gas Service Corp. The Pittsburgh-based steelworkers represent 80 of 215 employees at that natural gas utility, which serves Mobile County and part of Baldwin County.